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Halloween was right around the corner, in two weeks in fact, which meant that Eddie planned a special weekend campaign that was meant to scare their socks off. Not that he and his friends were easily scared, they loved Halloween and plus with the things they’ve seen, a campaign isn’t going to likely spook them. Sometimes Eddie lets others be the Dungeon Master, if their written campaign impresses him and since normally Freshmen weren’t allowed to join Hellfire, they wouldn’t be allowed to be DM, but Mike has been working on something for weeks now. He really wanted to impress Eddie with his creativity. After all, he had experience, he was usually the DM for the Party’s campaigns, he was the writer of the group so they were always super detailed. A lot of planning goes into them and because he wanted so badly to impress Eddie with his campaign, he was working on it every night after finishing his homework.
Today though, Mike noticed he seemed a little agitated. He was a little less animated today and some of his words were clipped but considering how Mike was pretty attuned to the people around him, or so he liked to think, he picked up on it earlier when he saw Eddie in the hallway. The older teen wore a scowl whenever any other student spoke to him. Mike also noticed he’d been keeping a firm grip on that metal lunchbox all day. Mike knew what was in there, he remembered from their first meeting that second week of school. Was he worried someone was going to steal his… his weed? Or did he have actual food in there? Mike never really saw him eating actual food during lunch, maybe he had a baggie of carrots or something snack-like, but never actual food.
So maybe he was hungry. He thought back to Eddie saying he was starving when he took him to McDonald’s.
“Are you okay man?” Pete asked, his eyebrows furrowed as Eddie brought the short campaign to a close. Eddie’s eyes cut to him, narrowed and Mike swore he saw red flames reflected in the dark brown of his eyes.
“Why? Do I not seem okay today, Peter?”
Gareth and Jeff glanced at each other, at the emphasis on Pete’s full name. Dustin and Lucas’s eyes darted back and forth between the Seniors. Pete stammered, his green eyes glancing at the rest of them, but none of them wanted to face Eddie’s ire. Mike has never really seen Eddie angry, but he wasn’t sure he ever wanted to.
“Nah man, I was just, I was just wondering. You seem a little on edge.”
Eddie released a heavy breath through his nose and closed his DM binder.
“Hellfire is over, you’re dismissed,” he said shortly. Dustin caught his eye from across the table and Mike shrugged. Lucas rolled his eyes and began to pack up his materials. Mike bit his lip as he watched everyone glumly clean up their area, the upperclassmen shuffling out of the room, after Gareth attempted to pat Eddie on the back.
“Well, that was the most awkward shit I’ve ever seen,” Dustin announced as they closed the auditorium door behind them.
“Something’s up with him,” Lucas added.
“Maybe he’s just having a bad day,” Mike responded with a shrug of his shoulders. “I mean, it’s not like he acts like that on a normal day.”
“Eddie’s not normal,” Lucas quipped. “He’s always acting over the top and now he’s acting like a dick.”
“It’s just one day,” Dustin defended. “It’s not like he walks around like that.”
“Yeah, plus, we still managed to make it through Hellfire, if he was really in a bad mood he might have canceled it.”
Lucas rolled his eyes again. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Eddie, he just thought Eddie was a lot and frankly, he was getting busier with basketball that he wasn’t sure if he could really maintain Hellfire. But he didn’t want to say anything to Mike and Dustin yet. They’d agreed to join at least one club together and if he dropped Hellfire, he’d be breaking the agreement.
“Whatever,” he sighed. Dustin and Mike exchanged glances and Mike wondered if Lucas was finally realizing that he was cooler than them. Being on the basketball team hadn’t particularly kept him from being teased but it didn’t happen as often as it happened to him and Dustin.
“I’ma go check on him,” Mike said, coming to a stop. Dustin and Lucas stopped too and turned to look at him, both of their eyes wide. “What?”
“I wouldn’t even try it,” Dustin said with a shake of his head. “Not when he’s like that.”
“We never see him mad,” Mike started. “Maybe he’s not even mad.”
“Your funeral,” Lucas deadpanned with a shrug. “I gotta go anyway, I told Jay I’d meet up with him.”
“What again?” Dustin complained.
“Yeah, I gotta keep working hard,” Lucas hopped back and forth on his feet. Mike had to admit he did look stronger. “I want to actually play.”
“Yeah, it’ll be nice to come to your game and see you on the court for once,” Mike joked. Lucas always seemed so excited to see them watch him ride the bench, which Mike didn’t really understand. Isn’t it kind of embarrassing to ask your friends and family to come to your game and you never play?
“Yeah, well, I keep working with Jay and I will,” he glanced at his watch. “Gotta go!” He waved over his shoulder and took off out the door. Dustin looked at Mike.
“What?”
“I think he’s gonna leave Hellfire,” Dustin said, his tone sharp. Mike blinked, silent as he thought of what to say. He already thought that himself. “All he cares about is Basketball.”
“Maybe, I mean- I mean yeah maybe, but we don’t need to be assholes about it.”
“Oh, so I’m being an asshole?”
“I didn’t say that, I said we, we don’t need to be assholes. It’s fine, everything will be fine. Aren’t you going to be late with your weekly phone call with Suzie?”
Dustin’s eyes widened comically as they darted to his watch.
“Shit! I can’t be late again!” He turned on his heel and ran towards the door, when he got there, he called back to Mike “I’m gonna watch Friday the 13th tomorrow night, if you want to come over!”
“Right, a scary movie every week,” Mike said with a nod. “I’ll be there.”
Mike walked slowly back to the auditorium after Dustin ran out the side door. He could hear music playing through the door and he wondered if he should even bother going back in. It wasn’t raining today so he could just leave and go home. He glanced at his watch, it was 8:15 and his mom already chewed him out for being so late last time and he wasn’t sure he wanted a repeat performance. But he wanted to check on Eddie.
So with a deep breath, he pushed open the door. He found Eddie sitting in his tall backed chair, his leg hanging over the armrest, his head leaning against the back and his eyes closed. He spotted the boombox on the side table behind Eddie, as it continued to play whatever slow song. Mike chewed on his bottom lip, maybe this wasn’t a good idea. He intended to just walk backwards out the slowly closing door but it slammed shut just as his foot moved. He jumped at the sudden noise, which in turn, caused Eddie to jump too, his eyes snapping open. They immediately fell on the Freshman who turned beet red at the situation.
After a tense minute of silence, Eddie spoke.
“Wheeler? Aren’t you supposed to be home in like 15 minutes?”
Mike opened his mouth then closed it, I probably look like a stupid ass fish, he thought to himself.
“I, well I just wanted to…” his voice died a little at the end and Eddie raised his eyebrows, waiting for the rest.
“You’re not so good with the words are ya kid?” He asked, swinging his leg back over and leaning forward on the table with his elbows. Mike scratched the back of his head, his fingers tangling in his slowly growing curls.
“Uh, I guess sometimes. I’m a better writer, Dustin is the one who’s good with words.”
“That makes sense,” he muttered thoughtfully.
“Yeah, in our party, he’s always the Bard.”
While in Hellfire and according to Eddie’s different campaigns, sometimes they made new character profiles, but in their own party their campaigns were like a different adventure for them, leveling up their characters each time. Dustin has yet to be a Bard in Hellfire but Mike always considered it his best role.
“In your party?” Eddie repeated, curiosity lacing his tone. Mike shrugged and adjusted the strap on his shoulder.
“Yeah, Lucas is the Ranger, Dustin is the Bard, our friend Will… he moved to California, he’s the Cleric and-” he paused, his mind and heart landing on El, he sent off a letter this morning and he spoke to her Wednesday night, but that didn’t make him miss her any less. He was still mad at Hopper for dying and leaving El to have to move to California. Everything would be so much better and easier if she was still here. But at least she was having a good time in California if their last conversation was anything to go by.
“And?” Eddie pressed. These freshmen were always so interesting to him. He knew that Mike, Dustin and Lucus were best friends and clearly had been for years but he didn’t realize they’d had roles within their friendship.
“Oh, right, um, El, she’s… she’s our Mage. Max, well she doesn’t really care but she claimed herself our Zoomer-”
“Zoomer?” Eddie cut in with a laugh. “There’s no such thing.”
“That’s what I said!” Mike responded with a grin, feeling way more comfortable, he moved forward closer to the table. “But she insisted and I guess it fits her. It’s not like El plays either, but Mage makes the most sense for her.”
Eddie noted the way the kid’s eyes lit up and how wide his smile was when he talked about this ‘El’ person and he briefly wondered if she was a friend who Wheeler had a crush on. He’d seen the boys with a redheaded girl, who he assumed was Max, giving her interactions with them and how she was clearly with Sinclair. So El, must not go here.
“El is also in California, she lives with Will and his family.”
“They related?”
Mike paused… no? Yes? He wasn’t sure. Ms. Byers and Hopper seemed to have… well something but he wasn’t sure. He shrugged.
“Not by blood.”
“And what are you?” Honestly, outside of Eddie just being cool, it was cool that he was interested in him and his friends past Hellfire.
Mike felt a swell of idolization in his chest.
“I’m the Paladin.”
Eddie nodded. He understood. Judging by the interactions between the three friends, he could see how they all fit into their roles. People think because of how he looked that he was stupid and many other things… and while school isn’t his favorite place, it was an easy place to observe and understand people. He took in lost sheep and he supposed it was nice to know that these kids had each other outside of Hellfire. Sure, he had his music and his band and Wayne but he was ultimately a loner, a small pang of jealousy flared in his gut.
“Did you need something?” Eddie asked, leaning back in his chair like a bored Prince. For a moment Mike forgot what he came in here for, he was completely thrown off with Eddie asking him questions… oh right, he couldn’t get his stupid words out. In awkward situations he never says the right thing. It’s very easy to just put his foot in his mouth. He’s done it many times. Explaining things was easy. Dungeons and Dragons was easy. Things that weren’t personal were easy to talk about.
“Um yeah,” deep breath. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I’m fine,” Eddie said sharply, his eyes hardening.
“Yeah, you said something like that before,” Mike muttered, dropping his eyes away from Eddie’s intense stare. “But, clearly that’s not true…”
“Is there a reason why you need to know if I’m alright Wheeler? You writing an article about me or something?”
Mike furrowed his brow and shook his head.
“No, I just- I-,” he wasn’t sure what to say. “Sorry.” He turned to leave, well that was a major bust. He heard Eddie slam his fist on the table and sigh heavily and dramatically.
“Come on, I’ll give you a ride.”
Mike sat in the front seat of Eddie’s van, the radio silenced which was a vast difference from the last time he was in this van. His bike laid in the trunk and Mike clutched his book bag to his chest as Eddie drove slowly towards his neighborhood.
“It’s- it’s my dad,” Eddie finally said, his voice somber with a twang of anger. Mike looked over at the older teen and Eddie’s eyes were firmly on the road but Mike noticed his knuckles turning white as his fingers gnarled around the steering wheel. “He called this morning and the asshole had the fuckin’ nerve to ask Wayne for some money and a place to stay. He had the nerve to ask me for some money.”
Mike didn’t know much about Eddie’s parents. There were always rumors about the Munsons and when he overheard his mom telling his dad about him showing up at 10:00 at night with Edward Munson, they talked about his parents. Eddie’s mom died years ago and his dad was a criminal.
“He’s out,” Eddie continued. “Out of jail and apparently wants to work his way back to Hawkins.”
“Why?”
“The hell if I know, there’s nothing for him here.”
“Not even you?”
Eddie scoffed. “Especially not me, my old man never cared about me. He knows he has a place to stay if he comes here and because Wayne is too good for this world, he won’t turn his asshole of a younger brother out on his ass.”
“But he’s your dad,” Mike stated innocently. Eddie laughed like that was the funniest thing he’d ever heard.
“So what? Your old man is supposed to care, and mine never did. Be supportive, come to my baseball games and shit!”
“You played baseball?”
“No! The baseball isn’t the point Wheeler!”
Silence.
“I think I get what you mean though,” Mike offered after the moment of silence grew between them. “My dad is… well he’s weird.” Eddie didn’t say anything so Mike continued. “I mean, weird in that he just never, I don’t know, seems to care? I don’t think he ignores me or anything but, you remember how you met my mom?” Eddie nodded. “My dad would never do anything like that. He would have probably come out, wanted to shake your hand and just let mom do all the talking. He might say things here and there but I know he’d rather sit in his chair and watch television.”
He paused suddenly feeling silly for even thinking his dad could compare to Eddie’s. They weren’t even in the same neighborhood. Mike’s eyes widened when he realized just how stupid he sounded and prepared to take it all back.
“Looks like we both have pretty lame dads,” Eddie said with a nod of his head and his mouth thinning. Mike raised his eyebrows in surprise that Eddie didn’t curse him out right there for trying to relate and doing it lamely.
“Mine is lame, yours is shitty,” Mike amended then for the second time today, turned red. “No offense!”
Eddie smirked and reached over to ruffle Mike’s curls. “Eh, it’s cool kid, you’re not wrong.”
The van slowed to a stop on Maple Street in front of Mike’s house. Some of the lights were still on and when he glanced at the clock to see 8:35, relief flowed through him.
“Sorry about your dad though Eddie, you- you don’t have to deal with him if you don’t want to. You’re a Senior and almost an adult,” everyone knew that this was Eddie’s third time as a Senior, so he was older than everyone else in his class but Mike didn’t want to say that in case that was a sore spot. He’d rather not have Eddie be mad at him now. “Can’t you just… just move out?”
“Heh, yeah, maybe someday,” Eddie grunted. “But I wouldn’t want to leave Wayne on his own, ya know? Don’t know what the old man would do without me.”
“I just don’t want to turn out like my dad,” Mike said, his voice low. “I don’t want to be apathetic to my family, you know if we ever, I mean if I ever have kids.”
“Ya know what I think Wheeler?” Mike turned to face Eddie and he was a little shocked at the expression on his face. He’d never seen that one before. “I think that because you know you don’t want to be like him, you’re already a step ahead.” He chuckled joylessly, the light in his eyes dimming. “Not all of us will be so lucky.”
Eddie always knew it was his fate to turn out like his dad. He already has followed in his footsteps in plenty of ways. He hasn’t been arrested for anything yet but he wouldn’t be surprised if Hawkins police were just waiting for him to fuck up. And contrary to popular belief, he does care about his little sheep. Mike Wheeler will be fine. His eyes flickered to the porch light that flipped on and he breathed out his nose in amusement.
“I think I’ve overstayed my welcome,” Eddie said, nodding in the direction of Mike’s house. Mike turned and sighed dramatically, his head dropping to the headrest when he saw his mom standing at the door, hands on her hips. Mike gave Eddie a resigned, closed mouth smile and hopped out of the van. He grabbed his bike from the back and before Eddie could speed off, he turned back to him.
“You won’t be like your dad either Eddie.”
With that, Eddie watched Mike jog up to his house, have an interaction with his mother before hauling his bike into their carport and disappearing inside the house. It was only then that Eddie drove off, the kid’s words echoing in his head.
When Eddie got to the trailer park, he spied a few men helping a redheaded woman bring boxes and furniture into one of the trailers. He watched a smaller redhead walk solemnly down the steps to the car and for a split second their eyes met. He recognized her, she was Max, and the look she gave him, made him understand that she wasn’t happy…
Who is? He thought briefly before walking into his own trailer. Wayne stood in the kitchen, the phone to his ear and his voice immediately lowered.
“Only for a few days,” Eddie heard. He walked into the kitchen and pretended to rifle through the fridge for a coke but Wayne only turned away from him and switched the phone to his other ear. Eddie rolled his eyes. “Fine. Bye.”
“Who was that?” Eddie asked nonchalantly. They don’t get a lot of calls and considering the phone call they received that morning, that Eddie himself picked up, he was suspicious. Wayne was quiet, picking up his newspaper and plopping on the couch.
“Al,” he said simply. Eddie gripped the can with angry fingers. Wayne noticed. “He won’t be here long Eddie.”
“A few days? That’s too long,” Eddie snapped, his eyes hard. Wayne rubbed his tired eyes at the venom in his nephew’s voice.
“He’s your dad,” Wayne mumbled.
“So the fuck what?”
“And he’s my brother.”
“And I’m your nephew,” Eddie slammed the can down on the counter, fire in his chest. “It’s been you and me for a long time Wayne, we don’t need Al fucking Munson coming here and messing shit up!”
Eddie didn’t realize he was yelling until he was finished and he could feel how his body thrummed with energy, energy he needed to expel. He glanced to his room where his guitar sat displayed, he could go and play his anger out… or he could go to his car and smoke. Either way worked for him.
“It’ll only be for a few days,” Wayne mumbled. Eddie rolled his eyes and stalked towards his room.
“Yeah well, I won’t be here then.”
And with that, he slammed the door. He wasn’t sure where he was gonna go. Maybe Reefer Rick’s if he’d have him. He just knew he didn’t want to be here.
*************
The next morning, Eddie found himself on the floor, his blanket and sheets tangled around his legs. It wouldn’t be the first time he slept so fitfully that he fell out of bed. With a pained groan, he untangled himself and trudged into their shared bathroom. It was Saturday, so he planned to sleep in until tonight when the parties started and he and his pail of drugs needed to be available. Quickly brushing his teeth and washing his face, he ran wet fingers through his long curls and paused hearing boisterous laughter that didn’t sound like Wayne.
He pressed his ear up against the door and he could hear conversation.
“What the fuck?” He whispered to himself. He tugged open the door and stumbled out into the living room area and froze seeing Al Munson standing in his kitchen, in HIS kitchen with Uncle Wayne and a goddamn sodapop in his dirty hands. Wayne’s lips twisted to the side like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar and his green eyes softened. Al turned to face his son and Eddie clenched his fists.
“Son!” Al called, trotting over to him and pulling him into a hug. Eddie let him but his arms stayed by his side. “Come on now, give your old man a hug!”
“No,” Eddie said, his tone short. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Al pulled away and chuckled, his heavy hand on Eddie’s shoulder as he looked him over. “5 years I ain’t seen you and you act like that?”
“What? You expected a welcome wagon?” Eddie asked, his lips twisted in a snarl, his eyes hard. “It’d never happen.”
Al laughed. “Always with that rebellious spirit, you get that from me ya know,” Al chortled, taking a swig from his drink and ruffling his hair like he was a fucking child. Eddie’s lip curled at the words. “Don’t he Wayne? Got my spirit but looks like his momma!”
Eddie clenched his fists harder, his nails biting into the palm of his hands. He knew he looked like his mom but to hear Al say it AND that he’s the same as him, the man could honestly burn in hell with a thousand flames. Eddie couldn’t stand to watch as the man continued to laugh and drink his soda and just be in here, he hated him.
*************
After being held hostage by Al laughing and slinging his arm around him and regaling them with how he managed to make his way to Hawkins from Michigan in such a short time, Eddie managed to finally escape.When he reemerged, he was clean and in moderately clean clothes… the shirt smelled clean. Wayne was gone and Al sat alone, sprawled out on their couch and Eddie frowned.
“Jesus, you’re still here,” even though he knew the man would be here for a few days. “Don’t get comfortable.”
“You got a problem with me boy?"
“I’m 19, I’m not a boy,” Eddie snapped. “And yeah, I got a problem with you coming here acting like you own the place.” Al pushed himself into a seated position and crossed his arms. “You come in here with your bullshit and Wayne is to good a man to throw you out or say no and you take advantage every fuckin’ time.”
“You watch your mouth when you’re talking to me,” the man hissed, his voice lowering dangerously and his green eyes, just like Wayne's eyes, narrowing. Eddie scoffed, mouth open in shock.
“You want to parent me now? What part of ‘I’m 19’ do you not get?”
“I’ve always been your daddy, I’ve taught you plenty.”
“Hot wiring cars and knowing how to pick locks is not parenting you asshat.”
Eddie held back the flinch that wanted to pulse through his limbs when Al suddenly stood to his feet. They were about eye to eye, with Al maybe having an inch or two on him and while Eddie wasn’t a kid anymore, that underlying feeling of fear will always be there. Al stalked closer until he was in Eddie’s space. Eddie’s breath caught in his throat as he watched his dad’s eyes bore holes into him.
“Like I said,” Al started, a smirk crossing his lips. “You’re just like me.” He patted Eddie’s cheek which did cause Eddie to flinch, his eyes blinking in tandem with the two pats. Al turned away from him, burped and plopped back down on the couch, glued to the tv.
Eddie stood rooted to the ground, so many emotions flowing through him. He had to get out of here. He had places to go, people to see and drugs to sell. With a quick clarifying shake of his head, he huffed and crossed the room to the door so quickly, it would have looked like he teleported.
“I’m nothing like you,” he proclaimed loud enough for the man to hear. As he opened the door, Al laughed.
“Keep telling yourself that boy.”